Skirt hanger



Oct. 28, 1969 F. MCBA IN ETAL 3,474,943

SKIRT HANGER Original Filed Sept. 8, 1964 INVENTORS FRANK McBAlN JOHN A, MCBAIN dMja-ay k United States Patent Int. Cl. A47j 51/12 U.S. 223-95 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spring loaded skirt hanger having stepped end pieces, each end piece having a projecting flanged lip around the two sides and end face of the end piece at the base thereof so that the skirt can be held firmly with the minimum of spring tension.

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in skirt hangers.

It is well known that it is not desirable to fold a skirt and engage it over the cross bar of a conventional hanger. Rather it is desirable to be able to hang the skirt in the open position in order that creases will not form therein.

When it is desired to hang a skirt with a conventional wire coat hanger, it is normal to manipulate the wire hanger so that the ends turn upwardly and the waist band can then be engaged over the ends. However, this is undesirable as the proper tension is not given to the skirt and the hanger has to be bent to suit different waist band sizes.

We have overcome these disadvantages by providing an expandable hanger wherein the ends engage Within the sides of the waist band of the skirt and exert tension outwardly thus enabling the skirt to hang in its natural folds.

The principal object and essence of our invention is therefore to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is adapted to hang a skirt by tension engagement with the waist band thereof.

Another object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is adjustable within limits for various sizes of waist bands.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture, and otherwise well suited to the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, our invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of our device.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the main body member.

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of one of the end pieces of the hanger.

FIGURE 5 is an end view of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of the other end piece of the hanger.

FIGURE 7 is an end view of FIGURE 6.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

Proceeding therefore to describe our invention in detail, the device consists of a main hollow body member 10 preferably formed of plastic and having a hollow Patented Oct. 28, 1969 triangular cross sectional configuration as shown in FIG- URE 3.

A spring engaging hook 11 is formed within one end 12 of the main body member and extends upwardly from the base 13 thereof.

Centrally along the body member a suspension hook assembly 14 is secured as clearly illustrated. This assembly is slidable on the body member so that it can be centered thereon.

Slidable within the end 15 of the body member 10 is an end piece. 16 shown in detail in FIGURES 6 and 7. The end piece 16 has a horizontally elongated upper portion 17 of a triangular cross-section to slidably telescope into the main body member 10, and notches 18 are formed in the upper surface 19 of the portion 17.

A catch 20 is secured by means of stud 21 to the upper surface 22 of the main body member adjacent the end 15 and a downwardly extending claw 23 of the catch is adapted to selectively engage any one of the notches 18 thus adjusting the effective length of the hanger within limits.

Slidable within the end 12 of the main body member is an end piece 24 which is similar to the end piece 16 and is provided with a spring engaging hook 25 upon the inner end 26 thereof.

A tension spring 27 is extended between hook 25 and hook 11 thus normally biasing the end piece 24 outwardly relative to the body member 10. However, the end piece 24 can be pushed inwardly against the tension of the spring 27 as will hereinafter be described.

Each of the end pieces 16, 24 also includes an outer end portion 28 which is constituted by a downward extension of the triangular cross-section of the upper portion 17. The end portion 28 has a pair of downwardly divergent side walls 28' and a downwardly stepped outer end wall 29. Moreover, a laterally projecting horizontal ledge 30 is provided at the bottom of the side walls 28' and end wall 29, and a downturned rim 31 is provided at the marginal edge of the ledge. The ledge 30 and rim 31 coact to define a well pronounced lip which extends continuously around the side walls and end wall in plane spaced below the main body member 10 and the upper portion 17 of the end piece, as will be apparent from the drawings.

The stepped outer end wall 29 and the lip constituted by the ledge 30' and rim 31 engage the inside of the waist portion of a skirt and the provision of the lip enables the skirt hanger to be used with a relatively weak spring 27 thus overcoming the problem of stretching the skirt by use of a strong spring needed with devices common in the art.

The lip 30, 31, projecting laterally from the base of the end portions 28, holds the skirt along all three sides of the ends thus resulting in a firm engagement of the skirt and makes it practically impossible to have the skirt fall off or even be pulled off without damaging the hanger or tearing the skirt due to the fact that this three-sided lip is pocketed by the surrounding portions of the skirt waist band.

In operation, the adjustable end piece 16 is adjusted to the approximate size of the skirt Waist band whereupon the other end piece 24 is pushed inwardly against spring pressure and the end walls 29 are engaged within the waist band of the skirt whereupon the end piece 24 is released so that spring 27 forces this end piece outwardly thus gripping the skirt by the waist band so that it can hang freely therebelow.

What we claim as our present invention is:

1. A skirt hanger comprising in combination a main body member of a hollow substantially triangular crosssection, a suspension hook provided centrally on said body member, a pair of end pieces having horizontally elongated upper portions of a triangular cross-section slidably telescoped in the respective end portions of said main body member so that the overall length of the hanger is adjustable, detent means releasably locking one of said end pieces in an adjusted position relative to the body member, and resilient means biasing the other end piece longitudinally outwardly from the body member, each of said end ieces also including an outer end portion which is constituted by a downward extension of the triangular cross-section of the end piece upper portion, said outer end portion having a pair of downwardly divergent side walls and a downwardly stepped outer end wall, a laterally projecting horizontal ledge provided at the bottom of said side walls and end wall, and a down- 15 turned marginal rim on said ledge, said ledge and rim coacting to define a well pronounced marginal lip extending continuously around the bottom of the side walls and end wall of said end portion in a plane spaced downwardly from said upper portion of the end piece and from said main body member of the hanger.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,272,164 7/ 1918 Williams 22385 XR 1,804,314 5/1931 Brun 223-95 2,332,203 10/1943 Chidley 22395 2,429,712 10/1947 Fetter 22395 2,828,897 4/1958 Gordon 223--95 3,024,954 3/ 1962 Michlin 223-95 FOREIGN PATENTS 40,488 7/ 1929 Denmark.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner GEORGE H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner 

